What should I look for on food labels in order to choose healthier foods?
This comprehensive guide will help you understand food labels and make healthier decisions for your health. It can be difficult to understand the food label information, but this is a necessary skill for choosing foods that promote heart health. This guide will explain why understanding food labels is important. It also provides examples, tips, and other suggestions.
Read food labels for heart health
Understanding food labels is crucial in managing your diet and maintaining heart health. The American Heart Association states that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world, and diet has a major role to play in its progression or prevention. According to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, people who eat a high-processed food diet have an increased heart disease risk of 58%.
You can identify unhealthy fats and sugars and reduce your sodium intake by reading food labels. These are hidden in many processed foods. You can also increase your intake of fiber, and other heart-healthy nutrients by reading food labels.
Important Points for Getting Started
Pay attention to the serving size and the calorie content when you first start reading food labels. It's important to double-check the serving size because it can be misled. You can find out how many calories you will get per serving by checking the calorie count. Too many calories may lead to obesity, which is a factor in heart disease.
American Heart Association suggests limiting saturated fats and trans fats. They also recommend reducing sodium, sugar, and cholesterol. Consuming more vitamins and minerals, fiber, or both, promotes good heart health. Circulation published a study that highlighted these nutrients' importance in reducing the risk of heart disease.
Food Labels and Heart Health: Examples
- When buying whole grain bread, look for "whole grain", as the first ingredients. Journal of Nutrition research shows that eating whole grains may reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Fruit juices: check for sugar. The American Heart Association states that reducing sugar consumption can reduce blood pressure, inflammation and improve heart health.
- Choose low-fat and non-fat yogurt. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, these choices are healthier for your heart.
- Soup in a can: check the sodium content. To promote heart health, the FDA suggests limiting your sodium consumption.
- Select cuts of meat with low levels of saturated fats and visible fat.
- You can get healthy fats from nuts and seeds, but beware of added sodium.
- Sauces and dressings can contain high levels of sodium or sugar. Check the labels.
- Select cheeses with low sodium and fat.
- Choose cereals that are high in fiber and low in sugar.
- Choose canned vegetables that have no salt added.
Other Tips
Consider preparing more meals at home to be in control of what you eat. Remember that exercise is essential for your heart's health. American Heart Association suggests 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise at a moderate intensity.
Conclusion
Knowing how to read labels on food can be a useful skill for making healthier heart-friendly choices. You can limit the intake of harmful nutrients while increasing your consumption of beneficial ones. This skill can help you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and enhance your wellbeing.
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